Flashlight Draw - What Works For You?

This is a discussion on Flashlight Draw - What Works For You? within the Defensive Carry & Tactical Training forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; A good flashlight is a very essential part of my everyday carry. I never leave home without one, and it's on my person 90% of ...

Flashlight Draw - What Works For You?

A good flashlight is a very essential part of my everyday carry. I never leave home without one, and it's on my person 90% of the time throughout the day and 100% of the time at night.

However, I've yet to find a solid method of carry to support a quick draw of my light, which is something that is often overlooked. I can draw my weapon very quickly, but drawing my light tends to be more clumsy. Even more so if I try to draw them both together or in rapid succession.

You folks have any good methods that work for you? Positioning, draw stroke, sequence, etc...

PS. I'd like to keep the discussion away from "which tac light is the best", but for clarity's sake, the light I use is a Olight M22 Warrior. Can't fit in my jeans pocket, but will fit in a coat pocket or on my belt.

Good post + question. I keep my flashlight in my pocket, and digging for it is far from quick or solid. I kind of just except it, I haven't even really found a way I like to carry my spare mag on my belt so my flashlight is not an option there either.

Like the idea of having it in hand, but doesnt seem too practical for everytime I'm in low light. I've wondered about a pocket holster for my light.

If you are suddenly confronted with a threat as in an ambush the distance does not warrant a flashlight draw as the threat is readily apparent and intentions easily deciphered (usually enough ambient light anyway). Lights are for identification (communication and navigation as well)...not a shooting tool. For the most part, you will have the flashlight and handgun in hand already. We do work on flashlight draws during low light rifle/shotgun classes when one has to transition to secondary:

Here's a video:

You should also be proficient with clearing malfunctions and emergency reloads when using a light. Regardless, it's a good skill to have and master as you may have to draw both in certain situations. Train for all contingencies!

A good flashlight is a very essential part of my everyday carry. I never leave home without one, and it's on my person 90% of the time throughout the day and 100% of the time at night.

However, I've yet to find a solid method of carry to support a quick draw of my light, which is something that is often overlooked. I can draw my weapon very quickly, but drawing my light tends to be more clumsy. Even more so if I try to draw them both together or in rapid succession.

You folks have any good methods that work for you? Positioning, draw stroke, sequence, etc...

PS. I'd like to keep the discussion away from "which tac light is the best", but for clarity's sake, the light I use is a Olight M22 Warrior. Can't fit in my jeans pocket, but will fit in a coat pocket or on my belt.

^ I think that really, my fellow Ohioan summed it up best:

Originally Posted by Mike1956

I get my light in hand before I go into darkness or low light. I return it to my pocket when I get back to a lighted area.

In terms of being reactionary, though, I feel that getting the gun out first is more important in the same manner that PhoenixTS cited.

But speaking purely in terms of getting the light out, MrTrevor, I really feel that you simply have to find something that works best for you - and this will be based not only on your own dexterity, but will also be affected by things like how you carry (is the light clipped to the inner radius of your front pants pocket? or the outside? or is it clipped to your belt? or is it carried in your back pocket? or is it clipped to the sight channel of your AIWB holster? or is it in its own carry pouch? etc.) as well as what you carry (is the light lens-up or lens-down? how big is the light? how is it textured? etc.).

Someone with a smaller light that rides deeper in the pocket, for example, may need to first push the light "up" with their fingertips before palming it with their hand - Janich detailed a similar draw method for a pocket knife in his hold Street Steel book. On the other hand, someone with a Surefire Combat Ring or Costa/Thyrm SwitchBack will quite easily be able to index and withdraw the light from their pocket and be able to bring that light to-bear much faster. Yet, with the Combat Ring or the SwitchBack, you're going to be giving up both pocket real-estate as well as increasing your carry profile, either or both of which you may find less-optimal or even unacceptable. Similarly, a lanyard (remember to adjust it properly - this is a biggie that I see violated all the time by instructors - even some big-name ones - who have not spent a considerable portion of their professional lives "in the dark") is a great compliment to the light, but will it be socially acceptable for you to have it dangling out of your suit-pants pocket?

Remember also how and what you carry may further impact what techniques you are able to employ.

Fellow Forumite JBM pointed me to this awesome thread on another Forum:

Towards that end, look at what techniques your chosen light allows you to do. I love the two lights I carry most (a LX2 and a Malkoff equipped E2D), but I know that it's very awkward for me to use the Rogers/Surefire or Graham techniques - which are what I prefer to use when I've got my P2XZ or my Z2X-LED - when I've got either of these two EDC lights in my hands.

Understand also the physical limitations of your lights - not just in terms of what their throw/beam may look like, but also in terms of what physical concerns you may have to worry about (will the clip break - and what happens to the light when that clip breaks? will your shirt snag the clip as you draw? can you properly manage the different modes that the light gives you - have you really tested this under stress? etc.).

There's a lot going on - and getting the light out quickly is only a part of the equation.

Undeniably, though, it's a part of the equation if you're reactionary: and towards that end, having something like a lanyard or Paracord pull or something like the Surefire Combat Ring or the Costa/Thyrm SwitchBack on the light - or even something like the Raven Concealment Flashlight Clip's "ring" device - if you can make the compromise that it requires on your carry profile, that can really help you positively index the light as it sits on your body, get it out quick, and maybe even give you a few more options when it comes to different techniques.

In terms of being reactionary, though, I feel that getting the gun out first is more important in the same manner that PhoenixTS cited.

But speaking purely in terms of getting the light out, MrTrevor, I really feel that you simply have to find something that works best for you - and this will be based not only on your own dexterity, but will also be affected by things like how you carry (is the light clipped to the inner radius of your front pants pocket? or the outside? or is it clipped to your belt? or is it carried in your back pocket? or is it clipped to the sight channel of your AIWB holster? or is it in its own carry pouch? etc.) as well as what you carry (is the light lens-up or lens-down? how big is the light? how is it textured? etc.).

Someone with a smaller light that rides deeper in the pocket, for example, may need to first push the light "up" with their fingertips before palming it with their hand - Janich detailed a similar draw method for a pocket knife in his hold Street Steel book. On the other hand, someone with a Surefire Combat Ring or Costa/Thyrm SwitchBack will quite easily be able to index and withdraw the light from their pocket and be able to bring that light to-bear much faster. Yet, with the Combat Ring or the SwitchBack, you're going to be giving up both pocket real-estate as well as increasing your carry profile, either or both of which you may find less-optimal or even unacceptable. Similarly, a lanyard (remember to adjust it properly - this is a biggie that I see violated all the time by instructors - even some big-name ones - who have not spent a considerable portion of their professional lives "in the dark") is a great compliment to the light, but will it be socially acceptable for you to have it dangling out of your suit-pants pocket?

Remember also how and what you carry may further impact what techniques you are able to employ.

Fellow Forumite JBM pointed me to this awesome thread on another Forum:

Towards that end, look at what techniques your chosen light allows you to do. I love the two lights I carry most (a LX2 and a Malkoff equipped E2D), but I know that it's very awkward for me to use the Rogers/Surefire or Graham techniques - which are what I prefer to use when I've got my P2XZ or my Z2X-LED - when I've got either of these two EDC lights in my hands.

Understand also the physical limitations of your lights - not just in terms of what their throw/beam may look like, but also in terms of what physical concerns you may have to worry about (will the clip break - and what happens to the light when that clip breaks? will your shirt snag the clip as you draw? can you properly manage the different modes that the light gives you - have you really tested this under stress? etc.).

There's a lot going on - and getting the light out quickly is only a part of the equation.

Undeniably, though, it's a part of the equation if you're reactionary: and towards that end, having something like a lanyard or Paracord pull or something like the Surefire Combat Ring or the Costa/Thyrm SwitchBack on the light - or even something like the Raven Concealment Flashlight Clip's "ring" device - if you can make the compromise that it requires on your carry profile, that can really help you positively index the light as it sits on your body, get it out quick, and maybe even give you a few more options when it comes to different techniques.